Railway-brake



(No Model.)

0. K. PICKLES. RAILWAY BRAKE.

No. 595,496. Patented Dec. 14,1897.

' NITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

CHARLES K. PICKLES, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO J. J. MCCARTHY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAl LwAY -BRAK E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,496, dated December 14, 1897. Application filed. June 30,1897. Serial No. 642,948. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES K. PIOKLES, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Railway-Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to brakes, and has for its principal object to improve the means for maintaining the brake-shoes in operative relation to the wheels and the means for applying the brake-shoes to the wheels.

It consists in the parts and in the combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of my device, showing one end thereof in section. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same applied to a car-truck. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a detail of the draw-bar, showing the distance-bar in section as it appears on the line 4 lofFig. 1.

Like symbols refer to like parts throughout the several views.

A bar 1 is suspended from the car-truck 2, parallel with the axle, by means of strong rods 3. On each end of this bar is pivotally fastened a lever 4, preferably curved or inwardly turned at its pivoted end, and the free ends of these levers are operatively connected to a draw-head 5, arranged transversely of the distance-bar 1, at the middle of said bar. The particular connection of the levers with the draw-bar shown in the drawings consists of a transverse groove 6 in the draw-head, in which the enlarged rounded ends of the levers fit and thereby form a permanent connection which automatically adapts itself to the changing positions ofthe levers. The draw-bar and levers are automatically retracted away from the distance-bar by any suitable springas, for instance, by a flat bow-spring 7, whose ends bear against the "respective levers and whose middle portion has a recess in the draw-bar and bears against the distance-bar or the guide thereon.

Brake-heads 8 are arranged near each end across the distance-bar and pivotally fastened to the respective levers. Guides 9 are provided on the distance -bar for the brakeheadsand also for the draw-bar 5, so that the motion of the draw-bar is at a right angle to the axle. To permit of this parallel motion of the brake-heads, either their pivotal connections to the respective levers or the connections of such levers to the distance-bar should have elongated holes for the pivotpins, so as to take up the necessary play.

The operation of the device is as follows: The distance-bar being suspended from the truck by means of the strong rods, the brakeshoes lie close to the tread of thecar-wheels; The braking force being now applied through intermediate devices to the draw-bar, the draw-bar is first moved transversely of the distance-bar in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. This movement overcomes the resistance of the spring against the levers connected to the draw-bar and brings the brake-shoes into contact with the wheels. The wheels thus become the fulcrums of the respective levers, and a continued pull on the draw-bar causes the outer ends of the levers to move or tend to move in the reverse action.

The distance-bar will likewise move with this reverse movement of the lovers if the rods supporting it are made sufficiently flexible; otherwise the distance-bar remains in its original position. The main function of these rods, however, aside from supporting the structure, is to keep it from moving with the wheels when the friction becomes too great.

What I claim is- 1. A railway-brake comprising a distancebar, a draw-bar arranged transversely thereto, levers pivotally fastened to said distancebar and operatively connected to said drawbar, and brake-heads near the ends of said distance-bar and pivotally connected to the respective levers, substantially as set forth.

2. A railway-brake comprising a distancebar, a draw-bar arranged transversely thereto, inwardly-turned levers pivotally fastened to the ends of said distance-bar and having their inner ends operatively connected to said draw-bar, and brake-heads near the ends of said distance-bar on the side opposite the levers and extending back across said distancebar and pivotally fastened to the respective levers, substantially as set forth.

3. A railway-brake comprising a distancebar, rods suspending said bar from the truck, guides near the end of said bar for sliding brake-heads and a guide at the middle for a draw-bar, and levers pivotally connected to the ends of said distance-bar and operatively connected to the draw-bar and having the brake-heads pivotally connected thereto, substantially as described.

4. A railway-brake comprising a distancebar, flexible rods suspending said bar from the truck, guides near the middle and ends of said bar, and levers pivotally connected to the ends of said bar and operatively connected to a draw-bar and having brake-heads pivotally connected thereto, said brake-heads and draw-bar being arranged to slide transversely in said guides, substantially as described.

5. A railway-brake comprising a distancebar, a draw-bar arranged transversely thereto, levers pivotally fastened to said distancebar and operatively connected to said draw- 

